SILVER OAK

Description:

Habit & Habitat: The trunk is tall and straight and has gray, rough, furrowed outer bark and orange-brown inner bark.

Leaves: The leaves are olive green and mostly hairless above, brownish to silvery and silky-hairy below, fern-like, and deeply bipinnately divided into narrow, linear to lanceolate segments with curled under margins. The young branches are hairy and rusty brown in color.

Flowers: The flowers are clustered on the top side of horizontal, 5 inch (12.7 cm) long, brushlike inflorescence. The individual flowers have 0 petals, 4 sepals, and 4 orange stamens. The flowers contain abundant sweet nectar and attract nectar-feeding birds. 

The flowers are followed by blackish brown, hurricane symbol-shaped seed follicles containing 1 or 2 winged seeds.

Uses: Before the advent of 

aluminium, Grevillea robusta timber was widely used for external window joinery, as it is resistant to wood rot. It has been used in the manufacture of furniture, cabinetry, and fences.